ADL urges Pope to suspend Pius sainthood over Holocaust inaction

newageblues : I agree w/you re: Pius X11. a lot has not ever been satisfactorily explained re: our WW11 Pope. Suggest reading of Papal Sin (Gary Wills) which may explain more than anything everybody has been defending from their personal point of view. Just a thought.

This is just sick, as soon as I heard the news I officially left the catholic church (meaning my name was deleted from the church list).

Dear Mr Crumley, Thank you for your contribution in defense of His Holiness, Pius XII. It is disgraceful that this saintly man has been maligned by liberal "Catholics" and non-Catholics alike whose agenda it is to destroy the Church and indeed, Western Civilisation. We wait with hope and patience, but mainly patience, for his imminent sainthood. Sincerely, Ian Crowe

Gee, it sounds like Mr Itzchak is suggesting that all are Catholics were Nazi sympathizers.....

There are now numerous published accounts, some by Jewish authors, that refute the shameful accusations of 'indifference' made against Blessed Pope Pius XII. Foxman/ADL clearly hate Catholic Christianity and seek to bully the Church into not sainting him. First, the Church doesn't reveal saints to the Faithful; God does. He will be sainted, so get use to it, Foxman/ADL. We are fed up with your lies. God forbid anyone dare criticize Israel. The Latin Mass will return soon and the prayers for the conversion of non Catholic Christians will resume UNALTERED. (And in my opinion, it's also time for the Holy Father to finally consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

Look, let's get real here. The Pope was the only person who could have stood up to Hitler and made a real difference. If he would have instructed all Roman Catholics that it is immoral and completely wrong to participate in any way in the Nazis' activities, it could have ground a lot of things to a halt. A true religion would have taught that it is better to die than co-operate with the Nazi evil. The only miracle he is responsible for is that some people think he's worthy of sainthood. What an indictment of the roman catholic theology that is.

Greetings, It is most confounding that a man who used to be duly hailed for heroic service to Jewish victims of Nazi oppression has, in recent decades, been denounced for "silence" during the same era. In the American Jewish Yearbook of 1944-1945 (pg. 233) one reads of Israel's then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Golda Meier, having declared to a United Nations assembly that, "... During the ten years of Nazi terror, when our people went through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to condemn the persecutors and to commiserate with their victims. The life of our time has been enriched by a voice which expressed the great moral truths above the tumults of daily conflicts. We grieve over the loss of a great defender of peace.." Dozens of other distinguished persons, including chief rabbis of many countries, extolled Pius XII for his outspokenness during those dreadful years. May the truth be restored for the benefit of all. Kind regards, Peter Crumley

I just don't understand! Some years ago I read an autobiographical book written by Israel Zolli, who later changed his name to Eugenio Zolli. This Jewish man was at the time of the holocaust the Chief Rabbi of Rome. Soon after the war ended he completed an academic journey for truth that led him to become a Roman Catholic. At his conversion he took the name of Eugenio which was the first name of Pius XII before he became Pope. At the time of his movement to Jesus Christ whom he considered to be the fullfilment of phrophesy Zolli said he was rejected and sharply criticized by the Jewish community that accused him of becoming a Christian out of gratitude to the Pope for all he had done to save Jews. If what Zolli reported is true, how can the Jewish community today claim that Pius XII consorted with Hitler to kill Jews when the Jewish community that lived through the holocaust said the exact opposite. What I hear resonating is deep seeded Anti-Catholicism.

He shot off his mouth accusing a couple of anti semitism. The ADL lost the lawsuit and it cost them millions. http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v19/v19n3p18_ADL.html Now he demonstrates his ignorance of WW2, Pius & The Church's Role. A litle research could help. Any casual reading on Nazi propaganda during the period would introduce people to the Nazi hatred of Pius, a man Hitler wanted to kidnap. Hitler said ?The Pope has repudiated the National Socialist New European Order? and makes himself the mouthpiece of the Jewish war criminals.? When Pius XII learned about the Nazi round-up on October 16, 1943, why did he immediately send an official, personal protest through the papal Secretary of State Cardinal Luigi Maglione to German Ambassador Ernst von Weizsäcker? In 1985, Cardinal Pietro Palazzini was honored by Israel?s Yad Vashem as a ?Righteous Gentile.? He explicitly stated that Pius XII ordered him to save Jews. I could go on and on.

Well, maybe the canonization process should stop until the Vatican releases the documents. then maybe we could have more information to go on as to the saintliness of Pope Pius XII. I am Catholic. My question is why is it no one including the Jews seems to see any of the good things that were done by the Catholic Church and the Pope? Some of the positive things he did and the Church did during WWII have already been mentioned in some of the e-mails posted here. The Jews of Rome supposedly gave $1,000,000.00 to the Pope and the Vatican after WWII, for helping the Jews of Rome, by hiding them in the Vatican itself, monasteries and private homes of Catholics, Italian Catholics in Rome and throughout Italy. Later the Chief Rabbi of Rome converted to Catholicism due to the actions he witnesssed of the Catholic Chruch's concern for the Jews in Italy and elswhere. However, maybe to clarify the extent of the Vatican's attempt to save the Jews and others during WWII.

""Dalin, David G. The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis. Regnery Publishing. Washington, 2005. ISBN 0-89526-034-4. "" Pius XII was lauded as a righteous gentile by Jews who were his contemporaries..like Golda Mayer. Maybe he didn't have the most selfless reasons for helping Jews...after all his best friend a certain professor Roberto Almagia from childhood was a Jew who he hid in the vatican through the war. But he did help the Jews... I think judging people of good will from world war II is astoundly rash. We have NO right. We did not live in those times and I hardly think most of the people on this board would rise to the occasion like Pius II did, or indeed many European Christians did who hid whole families in their homes at great peril. What ever Pius DID do it must have been good since because of him the head rabbi of the time Israel Zolli, not only converted to Christianity, he took Pius XII's baptismal name as his own!! Tom

Pray for the Jews, God bless the apple of His eye, love them whether they love us or not, pray for their salvation in the name of jesus, and pray that the Vatican doesnt color their impressions of true Christianity.

History shows that Pius XII saved only a few hundred Jews hiding them in the Vatican and that came only very reluctantly when his officials harassed him into doing so. Come on man, wake up.

Peter from Victoria, (I used to live there btw :-) ) Pius XII's silence is one of the things that led to the slaughter of NINE MILLION PEOPLE (6 mil Jews, 3 mil others) What more damage could possibly have happened? It is our DUTY to speak out against the mass murder of God's chosen ones whether our words could have any effect or not. Silence is equal to conspiracy

The Lord rebuke you. Whether you agree with the Jews or not, like it or not they are still God's chosen people and they will rule and reign in this world alongside Jesus when He returns. The Catholic Church has nothing to do with the Jews? JESUS AND THE APOSTLES WERE JEWS, YOU MORON.Christianity is an outgrowth of Judaism not some pagan conglomeration like the RCC. Benedict is nothing but a blind fool as well as you if you dont get your head out of the sand.

Foxman is a sophisticated liar. He says "prove to me" that Pius didn't do this or that. Number one, it isn't up to the POPE to listen to a hate mongering snake like Foxman. Foxman is a weasel and he is the biggest ANTI-Catholic breathing. Number two, what the Catholic Church does has nothing to do with the Jews. The Jews tried to snub out Christian philosophy at it very birth with the crucifixions of Christ himself. That is a simple matter of historical fact that Foxman would like the world to forget. So all this and that about Pius is a smoke screen lead by a Jewish hate group leader. Foxman is a hater. Benedict XVI is a walking saint, living in a vicious evil world. Foxman, may unwittingly, make Benedict XVI a saint also. Foxman ought to learn about "the deeper magic".

As a young Catholic, I am deeply appalled and insulted by the ADL and their suggestion to suspend the canonization of a great Pope, Pope Pius XII. Many Catholic still today consider Pius XII a saint. He was not responsible for the Holocaust, nor was He the only moral voice in the world who should have spoken against the killings of Jews and many millions of others. Alone among world leaders, Pius XII attempted thru all means possible to save as many Jews as possible. He was thanked in His own lifetime by many Jews who survived the War for his noble efforts. The misguided views of the ADL, and the outright bigotry of others should not cast a shadow on the figure of Pope Pius XII, nor exert pressure on the present Pope to suspend the initiatives to canonize as a saint His noble and indeed truely saintly predecessor.

I'm not Catholic, so Pius' sainthood (or non-sainthood) does not impact me in any way. However, it seems to me that Pius deserves to have people research the facts of what he did do. I've read that Pius *did* help to hide Jews and urged others to do the same. He didn't just sit on his hands and do nothing. Perhaps the expectation was that Pius would have more influence on the Nazis and help end the killing of innocent people. I doubt anyone could have influenced the Nazis. The Nazis were anti-Christian so listening to the pope would be the last thing they'd do.

Some people think that one is morally required to decry every evil, for, surely, intentions are prior to consequences. But that does not exclude an assessment of consequences when an intention is ordered. It is, in fact, unethical to decry an evil if one honestly holds that such an action will have more deleterious effects than those it seeks to prevent. Anyone conversant with the real situation in the Third Reich during the War will realise that the Pope did not have the power to halt the genocide perpetrated by Hitler. Even if not the case, it is defendable to suppose that Pius XII honestly believed that speaking out would expose even more victims to the fires of the death camps. Therefore, he did the right thing by keeping silent and trying to protect as many people as he could. This was the intention of a saint. Indeed, it is consonant with an intent to suffer for those being killed. Pius XII aimed to save lives, not to achieve public adulation.

As a Catholic I am offended by the unjust attacks on Pius. For us to attack someone from the safety of our situation in the year 2007 is unjust! Who can say they would have done better? What army did he have? He had to make decisions not just for his life, but for all of the catholics and jews in Europe. Had he spoke out more forcefully many more may have died, both Catholics and Jews. His decision to save as many as he could was the better part of valor. Had he and the church been wiped out who would have been able to save anyone? You act as though he was able to see with perfect vision what was going to happen.

Do you actually read? I was in no way stating that Pius turned his back on people. I was defding him you twit.

As their name says, Click, they are there to fight defamation of the Jewish people. Actually no, if you had any sort of knowledge or acquaintance with someone from the adl, they will plainly tell you that their only focus is not jews anymore. And this has nothing to do with "defaming" jews. It has to do with deciding if someone qualifies for sainthood.

Connie is so right. Jesus was a Jew and if he returns will do so as a Jew. Whatever this one or that one wrote won`t change a single iota of the truth. And? Do you think that there is an educated Catholic alive who doesn't already know this? What do we care what Jesus was when he died? He died to fulfill a prophecy and you must be jealous that our religion has gained strength on that. And no, I am not an evangelical. I don't even go to church on sundays!

Your argument and your comparison of Prime Minister Begin to the Pope are ridiculous... One person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist. Begin may have killed people directly. The pope did not. Your argument is ridiculous too. You may want to read more history as well. Pius helped many jews. Just because he didn't help all of them doesn't disqualify him from sainthood. Lots of people died as a result of the holocaust, sort of as a warm-up. I don't see you standing in champion of all those german children who were euthanized. Or are they less important because they were jews?

don't expect to see that anytime soon either. we're keeping it. hey, i am catholic. i will give my portion of it to the marwan barghouti defense fund so he cqan be released from his illegal detention.

how is this for a miracle. he saved nearly a million jews when they hardly lifted a finger to save themselves. he didn't wear a castor star with the word "KAPO" in the middle of it.

Pius XII did speak out. Even the NYTimes said so! And he learned how that failed in Holland. His quieter complaints were not "limited" but were aggressive enough that Hitler decided to have him assassinated. He didn't save some lives - he saved over 800,000. That's according to the Jewish Israeli historian Pinchas Lapide who fought with the UK army in WWII. It never ceases to amaze me how little people know about this subject, but how even less that stops them from running at the mouth about it.

Mary, think about this. 1) The files ARE open. With only TWO archivists working in the Vatican archives it took a long time, but the files have been steadily opening for years now. Also, anyone who knows about this issue already knows that every new document keeps proving Pius XII innocent 2) you point about here makes no sense: "but why dont we give the Native Americans back the land we took... YOU as a US citizen are sitting on land that is not rightfully yours either." Again, get a clue. There is no one to give the US land back to. All those who once owned it ARE DEAD and HAVE BEEN DEAD for decades and decades and in many cases centuries. The Palestinians, however, have tens of thousands of people who lived in the British Mandate in 1947 were forced out by Israelis, or the fighting or just plain fear for their lives and have a legitimate claim to property now held by Israel. It may be impossible to do, but the Palestinians have legitimate claims to property in Israel

Do modern Jews do anything other than whine? It seems the Jews of the World War 2 era were different. Many heaped praises on Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church for the actions taken to protect the Jews. They include: Golda Meir (Former Israeli Prime Minister); Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Rabbi Alexander Safran, chief rabbi of Romania; Rabbi Isaac Herzog, chief rabbi of Israel; Moshe Sharett (who later became Israel?s first foreign minister and second prime minister); and of course Albert Einstein. There is plenty of information at the Catholic League here: http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/framemain.htm

Whenever I hear about the jews saying the holocaust should not happen again I want to vomit. How many millions of men women and cildren have lost their lives due to same.Where are they protesting.Nowhere.They should be shameful but they are not.How many jews threw their own families to the Nazis just to save their own necks.How pathetic. Barney Janecki.I hope this ends the discussion but i don't think so.As my mother said, some people have no shame.

POPE PIUS XII: "RIGHTEOUS GENTILE" OR "HITLER'S POPE"? Here?s what the New York Times said about Pius XII during the war: ? "If the Pope in his Christmas message had intended to condemn Hitler's system, he could not have done it more effectively than by describing the 'moral order' which must govern human society." (editorial, December 25, 1940) ? "The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas." (editorial, December 25, 1941) ? Catholic Church leaders "are virtually the only Germans still speaking up against the Nazi regime." (news article, June 8, 1942) ? "This Christmas more than ever he [Pius XII] is a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent." (editorial, December 25, 1942) ? Vatican Radio is quoted saying, "He who makes a distinction between Jews and other men is unfaithful to God and is in conflict with God's commands." (news article, June 27, 1943) ? Commenting on the 1,200 German priests interned at Dachau, the Times says, "The arrests are linked with strong anti-Nazi and anti-war movements in the predominantly Roman Catholic section of Germany." (news article, August 13, 1943) ? Remarking on the German bishops' pastoral letter condemning Hitler (which ended by thanking Pius for his leadership), the Times says, "The letter abounds in sly but fearless thrusts at the false god and Nazi tenets." (news article, September 6, 1943) ? When a Soviet house organ tries to tag the Vatican pro-Nazi, the Times goes ballistic: "Of all the incendiary literary bombs manufactured in Moscow?and thrown with such lighthearted recklessness into the unity of Allied nations, none is likely to do greater damage than Izvestia's unjust and intemperate attack upon the Vatican as 'pro-Fascist.'" (editorial, February 4, 1944) ? After Rome was liberated, the chief Rabbi of Rome, Israele Anton Zolli, formally expressed the gratitude of Roman Jews

Destroy this temple and in three days I shall rebuild another, not made by hand. Mark 14:57 See also Matthew and John. Revelations explains it further.

Albert Einstein: "Only the Catholic Church protested against the Hitlerian onslaught on liberty. Up till then I had not been interested in the Church, but today I feel a great admiration for the Church, which alone has had the courage to struggle for spiritual truth and moral liberty."

I urge you to read this article. http://www.catholic.com/library/HOW_Pius_XII_PROTECTED_JEWS.asp Here are a few quotes... "With special gratitude we remember all he has done for the persecuted Jews during one of the darkest periods in their entire history? (Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress). "More than anyone else, we have had the opportunity to appreciate the great kindness, filled with compassion and magnanimity, that the Pope displayed during the terrible years of persecution and terror" (Elio Toaff, Chief Rabbi of Rome, following Rabbi Zolli?s conversion).

To MM: The Roman Catholic Church IS "the church" except with a capital C. Catholic means universal. It was started by Jesus Christ himself and meant for ALL mankind, Jew and Gentile. To Connie: Do some actual reading. To Avi- Your comments were intelligent, articulate and well thought out. Thank you. To #9: You give the pope TOO MUCH credit thinking he could influence politics in Europe. He has not had that kind of influence since the Middle Ages. Barbara: The Pope DID NOT turn his back on the Jews. He and thousands of Catholics, Protestants, and others fought for the lives of all Jews. If he turned his back on the Jews, You tell me why the leading Rabbi of Rome converted to the Church after WWII? And don't tell me it is a lie. Research it, it is true. Mary: You want everyone to stop blaming Jews for the world's misfortunes. I agree. It is not the Jews fault. But the holocaust was certainly not the Church's fault. Pius had no influence over Hitler in any way.

The Pope did do all humanly possible at that time. People, in hindsight, give him too much credit of influence in politics. He had NO power over Hitler and the previous pope had NO power over Mussilini (sp?). Popes have not had that kind of influence since the middle ages. Pope Pius encouraged his priests (St. Kolbe died at Auschwitz for someone else), monks, and nuns (Edith Stein = St. Benedicta of the Cross was doubly cursed for helping harbor Jews as a Catholic and having been born into a Jewish family). MANY, MANY Catholics who stood up, with the pope's approval, and saved Jews with false Baptismal certificates, hid them, and in Rome gave up a lot of money and sacred vessels made of precious metals to ransom Jewish families. Many Jews were hidden on Vatican grounds. You all need to do a little research. Actual historical documents written BEFORE 1960 would be helpful.

The Vatican had/has no military. All was done underground. Imagine in the future someone urged Israel to disclose detailed security tactics it used during the 1967 war.

1. There is plenty of real factografical documents about Pius XII and Catholics and other Christians saving anti-Jesus Jewsin WWII and before. 2. For example, read a book of documents about Pius XII saving Jews. Author Margherita Marchione: Yours is a Precious Witness, Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah N.J. 1997. Some citations from the book:"Before anyone else of international stature paid the slightest attention to the Holocaust, PIUS XII condemned the Nazis in his 1942 Chrismas message. He spoke about the persecution against "those hundreds of thousands who, without any fault of their own, sometimes only by the reason of their nationality or race, are marked down for death or progressive extinction". The New York Times editorialized that "this Christmas more than ever the Pope is a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent". More than 20 milion people of the Soviet Union died in WWII.

The third temple is spiritual and not physical. It's been here for 2000 years. I urge you to get a good book on what the apostles and their firsthand successors were teaching. Buy Scott Hahn's book...The Lamb's Supper. Check out his website as well as salvationhistory.com. Pray and seek truth...don't allow yourself to be deceived by those making millions off of God's name.

Why is it when we do or say anything we're being anti Semetic? How is it you can nonjudegmentally judge us? My childhood neighbors, Polish Catholics, survived the death camps. You do not have the corner market on pain and suffering in this world. Many suffered before you and will continue to suffer. You have no business telling the Church what she can do no more than we can tell you. Do you contracept, abort, condone homosexuality? These are all things the Church is strict about. If your answer is yes than why is it you don't care or respect our teachings until it suits or doesn't suit you? If you don't care what the Pope/Church teaches in most areas why care now? This doesn't concern you.

Why is Golda Mier's very public praise after the end of the war never mentioned now? She and others were very vocal about praising Pope Pius and the aid he gave the Jews.

PIUS X11 lived for 13 years after world war 2 ended. Why did world Jewry not question him while he lived all those years. What were they afraid of? Golda Meir(Prime Minister of Israel)planted 863,000 trees for each Jew PIUS X11 saved.The silence of those critics for 13 years (13) indicts them of there cowardness.

we don't give the native Americans back their land because they are not sending suicide bombers into our cafes and shopping centers killing as many Americans as possible; Also we don't have israeli-style Apartheid. Native Americans are permitted to vote and hold office. There are no special privileges given to citizens here based on their religion. Instead of focusing on some saint who did what he could 70 years ago, we should focus on the pro-apartheid Israelis who can't get along with many folks because of an ingrained feeling that they are infinitely morally superior to the rest of the human race. The rules don't seem to apply to them. they can be racist and bigoted and that's OK. But we still love them dearly and we pray for them. They are God's people. Scripture shows that Hebrew history is almost always a tumultous history.

Here he goes again. Abraham Foxman (remember, he didn't want us to see "The Passion of the Christ" either with his cries of "anti-semitism") doesn't like our past Pope now either. Well, Golda Maier liked him enough to honor him in Israel and planted trees there in his honor. PPXII received many accolades from the Jews right after WWII for hiding and saving many Jews right inside the Vatican walls and in Monasteries in and around Rome. As many as 100,000 Jews were saved because of his efforts. (Hey does anyone remember that 2-3 million Catholics and Christians were also killed in the holocaust! Oh we're not supposed to mention that!) Pope Pius XII was one of the most brilliant Popes of the 20th century and it's a shame that the ADL is so predudiced against Catholics.

Fear of communism probably played the leading role in Hitler's ascent to power and the sympathetic or unconcerned view many conservatives, democratic or otherwise, had of him in Germany, Europe, and US, including in the decidedly conservative Catholic Church. The relevance today of this lesson in how extremism begets extremism is too obvious to spell out.

I meant no disrespect. What I was trying to say is religions should be dealt with by their own. I would say the same whether it be Jewish, Islam or Christian. If it indeed was an attack on a Rabbi, I would assume you'd say MYOB? Which was my point.

Hey ADL - I seem to remember a certain President (FDR) turned away a group of Jews on an ocean liner heading to the United States during WWII to seem aslyum. I did a paper in college on Pope Pius XII and the falsified accusations on his role. He did all he humanly could to save as many Jews as possible. The United States knew what was going on and did not lift one damn finger to help.

You're right, I'm of Jewish background. I'm no authority on European history but I probably do know more about it than 99%+ of the people who post here. Certainly this issue is damaging to interfaith relations but that leaves open the question of who is acting improperly. What did I say that was too expansive in my criticism of Pius XII? Mike Goldberg

Dutchman makes a good point....the ADL should stand up for all victims of the Nazis, not just jews....but that does not mean the pope during WWII is not now burning in hell

This isn't about Pius XII, or Jews, or the holocaust. The ADL should stay out of it. This is about the soul of the Catholic church. Does it want to remain the church that idolizes murderers like John of Capistrano, Paul III, and so many inquisitors - like Charles Borromeo? If so, by all means, make Pius a saint as well: it will put him with the right crowd. If Vatican II and Nostra Aetate meant anything, however, the Church should be going in a different direction these days.

Sorry Bill but you are sadly wrong...I wish you were right though....the Church has created and pushed anti-semitism for over 1000 years...open your eyes....only since VAT II in the 1960's did the church change their anti-semitic stance.....also: I am not a Catholic hater...I am 1/2 cath and 1/2 jew (CASHEW) and I am speaking the truth...please realize the church is not perfect when it is led by man...only G-d is perfect

The question is how much influence the Pope had on German and other European Catholics. Do you really think the Nazis would have murdered Pius XII for speaking out on this one subject? I think they valued his and his church's overall neutrality WAY too much for that. The reason only the Catholic Church is being criticized in this forum is obvious, the article is about their decision to make a saint out of the Pope who mostly stood by during the mass murder of 6 million people in the heartland of Christianity. Lastly I understand very few people acted adequately during the Holocaust, certainly not the American government or the American Jewish community or the Jewish community in Palestine. I wasn't around then but I probably would have responded inadequately too. Maybe enlarging the circle of criticism will make you feel less picked on.

Catholic-Jewish relations improved dramatically starting with Pope John XXIII and actually became warm under John Paul II. Everywhere, on local levels, these relations are pretty strong. I suspect that Pius XII as a Christian, will have died believeing that he would be judged by God. It's the Roman Catholics who choose and make saints. Abe Foxman makes waves; big ones; and sometimes that is critical. If, for example, there's wholesale Jewish cemetery vandalism and hate messages all over a country where the church is strong and the Chutch does not speak out, then Foxman can rightly point out their silence. But in a case like this, it is inapproriate; just as it was when he tried to stop "The Passion of the Christ" without ever having seen it. That film caused no increase in anti-Semitism and, if anything, actually seems to have renewed the commitment of love and compassion among Christians.

As their name says, Click, they are there to fight defamation of the Jewish people. So if full-time Jew-baiters like you are irked by their statements, all it means is that they doing their job.

Stop putting your big nose into what is "an internal matter for the Church", as you so rightly put it.

I am not a Catholic, however whatever the Catholics do is up to the Catholics. I think it is time the ADL realises that the Holocaust has passed it sell by date. Terrible as it was, the vast majority of the planet are not bothered. Witness Rwanda and Darfur which prove my point precisely.

Sainthood is a big deal, you cant just give it to anyone.Don't you want your saints to be credible people? Then if he has done nothing wrong, and is saint worthy, then the files should be opened. If the tables were turned, you would want the same thing. Stop blaming the Jews for everyone elses misfortunes, the problems in Israel run two ways. Occupation isto excuse for the atrocities that have been committed againt both Jews and Palestinians. NOTHING justifies ill treatment of a people. Yes there is occupation, but why dont we give the Native Americans back the land we took, they are sitting there still moping about occupation, so who are we to tell the Israelis what to do, YOU as a US citizen are sitting on land that is not rightfully yours either.

Any organization that supported mass murderers like Ariel Sharon or Menachem Begin has no business criticizing anyone else on this point.

Like it or not, there are a lot of ommissions. Nobody is sueing any Israeli for the settlements in occupied territories, for example today.

As I am not Christian the question of Sainthood to be declared by the Vatican is a pure religious one of religious significant only. ? One has to differentiate between the political Vatican and the position of the Pope as the head of the Roman Catholic Church nevertheless one can commentate on this process at present times. Here it becomes somewhat interwoven into the moral conclusion to be drawn from the Holocaust a unique measure in history and its imprint on nowadays society. Pope Pius XII is to be judged differently from Cardinal Pacelli. Pacelli?s function is to judged as completely political function in every respect as representing the Vatican politically in Germany during the end of Word War I ? Hohanzollern Kaizer Wilhelm II - into the Weimar Republic ( 1919-1933). The political role of Cardinal Pacilli enable the Nazi party to come into being (1923) and later on in 1933 to establish ?1 0 0 0 Nazi year? - In 1939 he was elected to become Pope and continued at least for the first 3 years and more his political view of Europe, but later when Rome, his birth city came under Hitler?s heel he tried to be helpful to Jews to Italy and other persecuted. - One got the impression that Pacilli Pius was mortally afraid of Eastern Communism etc and did not realize the price of his misjudgment. In consideration of what is known so far of Piu XII role in the political world not all documentation, records etc have been researched so that no final historic judgment can be made about his role. Most probably it would have been advisable not to proceed at the present time with the process of preparing a possible of Sainthood. Still tens of hundreds of thousand case witnesses, sufferers from that period are alive. It should be weighed if religious belief can be completely independent of humanity.

For once, I agree with you.

Dear Barbara: Did you ever hear of the I.R.A.? They were around a long time before the Irgun. Menachem Begin is far from being the most unsuitaable person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I agree 1000% that its none of the A.D.L.s business who the Pope wants to canonize.

Connie is so right. Jesus was a Jew and if he returns will do so as a Jew. Whatever this one or that one wrote won't change a single iota of the truth. Don't forget that even his last supper was a celebration of the Jewish Passover and even the apostles were breaking matzas with him. It is not silly to say the truth.

don't miss that book about Pius Xll in spanish it'scalled: El Vicario de Cristo- Stellvertreter in german- Pius XII no saint at all

As a Jew I say that the ADL has no business mixing into intra-church proceedings. Whatever we think about Pius XII what the Catholic Church does is their business and not ours. Anyway we will form our opinions of the Church by their actions.

the pope is german because he was german-born and stayed german until then. if you can imagine. nobody takes adl and all the other old-men-clubs for robbery seariosly.

Samy, I agree with your idea that the actions of Abe Foxman and the ADL are often (not always) so clumsy, overly aggressive, or poorly aimed that they have the effect of increasing rather than combatting ill feeling toward Jews. There's little that riles citizens of a free society more than the feeling that their opinions are being unduly suppressed or that they are unfairly being made a target. This is true even of the overwhelming majority of humankind who deeply sympathize with living Jews who suffered personal tragedy because of the Holocaust and who, as a people, have endured an almost inconceivable trauma. However, I don't think Foxman and his escapades are a really significant factor in the apparent worldwide rise of ant-Semitism. By far the most important cause of that ominous phenomenon is the Israeli policies toward Palestine and Lebanon, which are self-destructive by any rational account.

what they do with their pope(s)or anyone else, as long as they leave us alone.

The ADL have the biggest, flappiest, most arrogant mouths on the planet.

Excuse my mistake in spelling Jerusalem...it is late and I am tired.

ADL should re-phrase this complaint to Pius XII turning his back on all Nazi victims, not just Jews. And no, this isn't 'Ancient history' as many people term it here. Pius XII is but one man and if he committed what has been alleged, then it should be known as such, not just hidden in the papal library as just another chapter in Catholicism's bloody history. Enough bickering about Israel as well, that's a different topic.

Mr./Ms. Blues -- I should like to comment on your possibly pretentious comment, but first would like to have clarified whether you are Catholic or not. Also, do you pass yourself off as an authority on 20th century European history? I'm going to take a wild guess that you are not Catholic but rather are Jewish. If so, I wonder if you think that too-expansive assertions of victimization directed against Pope Pius XII and the Church of his time are going to do much to advance better interfaith relationships, if that be your objective.

The only ones that are silly are those that worship Jesus without realizing that he never gave up his Judaism. After 10 years of biblical study a group of ministers came to the conclusion that when Jesus returns to earth the first thing he will do is to look for a Temple. Hopefully by then the Holy Temple in Jerusalmen will be rebuilt and he can go home.You have the right to believe what you want...I have the right to believe as I do...I don't call you silly because you do not agree with me but I will say you are intolerant.

let's not burn our bridges before we have crossed them. There are years of work done by folks who have tried to bring a resolution to the differences between Catholics and Jews. One fool could burn down all those bridges in a night. It could be one of us or them. Remember there is power in unity. We're stronger if we have friends like Catholics.

Please don't confuse the Roman Catholic church with "the church". It is not the same.

First of all, the Vatican DOES NOT have an military. Secondly, Many Catholics were rounded up and murdered. Many gave their own lives to saving others. You should read the story of Edith Stein. Thirdly, anyone who spoke out was killed but you know that of course. Have you ever openly confronted and provoked a madman and his henchman? It feeds him and he thrives on slaughtering more. The Vatican saved far more working underground, providing safe housing, passports and such. Lastly, what the heck did other Christian sects do to save Jews and the innocent? Why is just the Vatican wrongly being attacked? Perhaps other Christians should look at their own sects and see what they DIDN'T DO, unlike Pope Pius.

Jesus will return to the temple? Perhaps you should spend some time reading about what the Jewish apostles and those they mentored have to say about that. Read the early church fathers if you dare. Until then, you look rather silly.

How many Catholic/Christian deaths did Jews save in those Holocausts? I want answers RIGHT NOW!!! Release all Israeli records immediately. Until that happens, Israel will be personally responsible for all their murders that occurred in those countries. It's all about ME, ME, ME!!! I'm blind to my own faults because I am so busy attacking and accusing others. Foxman needs to get a hefty bill for each and every of the hundreds of thousand of Jews that Pius and Catholics saved under his direction. Where is the Jewish community telling Foxman to shut up? Silent, of course. Ungratefully shameful, pathetically shameful!

Pope Pius recieved a very high award from the Jewish leaders after WWII. They knew he helped. The Pope does not use the Church to hurt people. That's a ludacris statement.

You want to know why anti-Semitism is on the rise? Look no further than the actions of the ADL...and Israel. Yesterday's oppressed are today's oppressors. God's Chosen People are at it again... telling others how to be a good human being!

What is the matter jc...don't like it when someone critizes the church? The truth is the truth is the truth and you cannot change what the church did in the second world war...try as you like. But please always remember...JESUS WAS A JEW...DIED A JEW AND WILL RETURN TO THE HOLY TEMPLE WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT AND I DON'T THINK HE WILL BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU.

I wish they wouldn't go thru with this. Pius XII refused to speak out publicly against what is probably the greatest crime in human history. No neutral figure in Europe had anything remotely like his influence, which he used only privately, to a quite limited extent. It's good he saved some lives but it ain't good enough given his influence on the hearts of so much of Europe. What should be beyond dispute is his catastrophic diplomatic error (shared by most everybody) as Vatican Secretary of State in the 1930's in not opposing Hitler, when he could easily have been stopped by the united democracies. As a historical note not related to Pius XII, I'm not sure whether the Vatican supported or just condoned Mussolini's takeover of Italy in 1922, but they certainly could have stopped him if they wanted to, so they must take a major share of the blame for the introduction of fascism to pre-World War II Europe. I don't think the Vatican become a believer in democracy until the 1960's.

Your argument and your comparison of Prime Minister Begin to the Pope are ridiculous. Mr. Begin was fighting for the right to have a country where Jews who had been systematically murdered by the Nazi's could come home to live with their own. When the Irgun planted the bomb in the King David Hotel, which was the English army headquarters, they were given advance notice that a bomb would go off. The pope,who is supposed to be a most holy man and the closest living person to Jesus, used his church to harm people. He turned his back on the Jews and faced the Nazi's and helped them. Maybe the Jewish people should not interfere with what the church wants to do about making this vile man a saint...let the church hang itself. Believe me Pope Pious is suffering plenty and I can bet he is not in heaven. Jesus has no place for sinners like him...afterall he hurt the peole of the book, Jesus's people...The Jews.

Did people protest when Menachem Begin got the Nobel Peace Prize? After all he was a member of the Irgun which was one of the first terrorist groups in modern times...Stay out of Church business. We don't tell other religions who to elect to higher offices.

The jackass just cant keep his month shut for a minute. FOXMAN SHUT THE HELL UP. It is none of your business you hippocrit. You foxman were saved by a catholic family and now all you do is attack the catholics. This jasckass is going to get some mail from me.

Has anyone taken the time to read the MYTH of Hitlers Pope, it is well written by a prominant Rabbi and proves that Pope Pius XII did a lot to save hundered of thousand of Jews... What did the Jeswish congress do to save Jews in Eastern Europe nothing at all...Please stop picking on the Pope anyone who does should be ashamed and look at their own religious abandonment by their own people... SHAME ON YOU...Say how come the state of Isreal does not do more to help Holocost suvivors but collects money in their suffering without passing it on to the survivors but to buy German made cars from themselves...Shame on You once agan,

One of those is the future health of Catholic-Jewish relations, on which great strides have occurred in the past 10 years. The canonization of Pius would set that process back significantly. Jews (not only Israelis) are certainly entitled to be heard on that issue. If #1 has a problem with that, deal with it.

The nerve of Foxman and the ADL knows now bounds. The war itself was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents of all religious groups, but only Jewish groups such as the ADL continue the blame game 60+ years after the events occurred. Perhaps Foxman and the ADL would have an iota of credibility if it also spoke out against the blind eye of today?s Jewish leaders regarding Israeli racism towards non-Jews living under the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem that is occurring right this minute, instead of whining incessantly about ancient history.

I think that the ADL should use its immense resources to track down those hundreds of Jews who were kept safe from the Nazis in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence in the hills outside Rome. Ask them what they think of the efforts of Pope Pius. It is a mania of certain Jews to imagine that Pope Pius could save the Jews. Why would Hitler listen to Pope Pius? Has any Israeli government ever listened to any Pope and softened any policy in deference to the Pope's complaints? No. Never. Israel is a semi democracy and Hitler was an outright tyrant. If Pope's can't influence half way decent Prime Ministers from BG to Olmert why do people imagine that tyrants would ever listen to Popes. The ADL really should give up its endless and increasingly obscene political manipulation of the Shoah.

The Israeli's are always quick to tell others to stay out of their business. I think this is one of those for the Christians. Not everything revolves around the holocaust.